CTC, the national cycling charity, to become Cycling UK

CTC, the national cycling charity, is to rebrand as Cycling UK from April of this year. Paul Tuohy, the organisation’s chief executive, said that he hoped a new name and brand would help make the charity more attractive to more people.

Founded in 1878 in Harrogate as the Bicycle Touring Club, the organisation was subsequently renamed the Cyclists' Touring Club and in 2011 members voted to convert to charitable status, taking on the name of CTC, the national cycling charity.

David Murray, Head of Communications and Campaigns, told road.cc that the new name was merely a reflection of what the charity was already doing.

“The success of any brand is about how an organisation ‘lives and breathes’ its values through the work that it does.

“For years, as the national cycling charity, we have worked hard to achieve three things: to inspire people into taking up cycling of all forms, be it touring, commuting, or family rides; we campaign to protect cycling interests, for example creating well designed and properly funded space for cycling; and finally, we help people to overcome personal barriers to cycling, like physical disabilities or economic barriers.

“Our change in brand is aimed at helping to more effectively present the work that we do, so that even more people embrace cycling in their lives”.

Echoing these sentiments, Tuohy said he was confident the change would help “magnify the great work that we do to inspire people into cycling, campaign to protect the gift of cycling, and help people to overcome personal barriers to cycling.”

BikeBiz reports that some members are opposed to the change, but the charity will still legally be registered as the Cyclists’ Touring Club with its charity and companies registrations unchanged. Tuohy was keen to emphasise that The Cyclists’ Touring Club was not being disbanded. “In fact, part of the need for this change is because we hope the new brand will enhance our touring offering.”

The new name and brand is due to be officially launched in April with ‘We are Cycling UK’ also being adopted as trading name of the charity.